Thracian tribes

The ancient Greek historian and geographer Strabo
documented twenty-two Thracian tribes. Modern historians now list up to
eighty. The list below includes the main Thracian tribes and the
neighbouring tribes that were most likely Illyrian.

(There are plenty of other websites with deeper
discussions on the the works of Strabo, Herodotus, and Ovid.)

Apsinthioi

The Apsinthioi lived in the region to the north of the Thracian Chersonese,
on the peninsular with the town of Galipoli now in Turkey. They are know to
have raided the Greek towns on the Chersonese.

Bessi

The Bessi lived in the
mountain regions on the upper course of the river Mesta. The Bessi are
known to have continued to speak their own language until 570 AD.

Bithyni

By the 5th century BC the
Bithyni were practically independent from Persia. The Bithynian chief, called Doedalsus, unified
the Thracians in north west Asia Minor and founded the Bithynian
kingdom. In the 4th century BC the region came under Alexander's general
Antigonus followed by Lysimachus, followed by the Bithynians retaking
the region. Nicea and Nicomedia (now Iznik and Izmit in Turkey) were the main
towns, with Prusa (Bursa) being founded by king Prusias I. The Bithynians remained
mostly independent until 75 BC when the kingdom was
bequeathed to Rome by Prusias’ grandson. The names of the Thracian tribes
continued through to the Roman provinces of Blythia and Mysia.

Bistonia

A district in southern Thrace
opposite the island of Thasos. The Bistones or Bistonians were ruled by
Diomedes I from the city of Abdera. Biston was the son of Ares in Greek
mythology.

Dantheletai

The Dantheletai lived in
the mountains south of the Serdi.

Dardani

An Illyrian people who
lived in east Serbia.

Dii

Thucydides of Greece said that the Dii of the Rhodope mountains were the most warlike troops among the infantry.

Edonians

Thracian people
living about Mount Pangaeus. One part of these Thracians were known as
the Panaioi by Greeks. Pan probably comes from the Thracian word *pan(s)-
meaning a swamp or bog.

Getae

The Getae lived between
the Balkan mountains in the south, neighbouring the Scythians to the east,
and the Moesi to the west, approximately the area of Dobruja
and Romanian Muntenia.
The Romanians place them as early Dacians, the Bulgarians claim them to
be Thracian, but as all the Danubian tribes were probably related both
views may be true. The Greek Herodotus mentions a royal marriage between
the Getae and Scythians.

Cicones

The Cicones lived in the region between the Biston lake and the lower course of
the Maritsa river.

Edoni

The name Panáioi (Thuk.),
used for one part of the Thracian tribe of Edoni was originally a geographical name, from the Thracian word *pan(s)- or
similar, meaning ‘a swamp, a bog’ and present in Thracian river names such
as Panisas, Panax, etc.

Medi (Maedi)

The Medi lived in the
mountainous region in Pirin Bulgaria along the Struma valley river.
Their towns are now called Sandanski and Petrich.

Moesi (Mysia)

The Moesians (Mysians)
ruled the lands between the Danube and Balkan mountains (Stara Planina),
and possibly also north of the Danube. The Romans defeated them in the
first century BC, and by 28 BC their name was given to the extensive
Roman province which included all the lands south of the Danube from the
Black Sea to the Sava.

There were also Mysians in Asia Minor who were Thracians living between the Lydians Phrygians and Trojans,
and in Bithynia. These names of the Thracian tribes in Asia Minor continued
through to the Roman provinces of Blythia and Mysia.

Mygdones

The Mygdones lived in the
region of Mygdonia or Mygdn.

Odrysae

The Odrysae (Odrisi,
Odrsai) were the most powerful
Thracian tribe from the 5th century BC. They were based in the central
Thracian plain with towns at, or near, the modern towns of Plovdiv,
Asenovgrad, Kazanlak, and Stara Zagora, however their empire extended
from the Black Sea coast along along the Agean coast to Abdera (now
Avdera in Greece) and included the town of Uscudama (now Edrine in
Turkey).

Paeonia

Paeonia is now in the
Republic of Macedonia, north of ancient Macedonia where the Vardar river
goes through through narrows, west of the Thracians of the Struma
valley. The Paeonians are documented by Herodotus, then five centuries
later by Strabo, then two centuries later Dio Cassius places the
Paeonians in a larger area up to and along the Danube.

Other tribes linked within the Paeonians were the Agrianians to the
north in southern Serbia, and the Laeaei in the area of Kyustendil.

Phrygians

Probably also known as the Brygi, Bryges Phryges
and Brigians. They are thought to have moved in to west and central
Anatolia from Thrace around 1200 BC. Their language is thought to be
linked to modern Armenian. Herodotus records an account that the Phrygians
once lived in Macedonia and were removed to Asia Minor.

Satrai

The Satrai tribe lived in
the region between Mesta and Struma rivers.

Serdi

Serdica (now Sofia) was
named after the Serdi Thracian tribe.

Sintians

The Sintians live between the Paeonians and Maedi.

Scordisci

The Scordisci are thought
to have been a Celtic tribe, possibly assimilated with Illyrians and Thracians,
that lived where the river Sava meets the Danube, around Belgrad in
modern Serbia.

Triballi

The Triballi lived between the Morava and the
Danube, their rule extending across the plains of north western
Bulgaria. Their history ends after Alexander's death and the invasion of
Celtic tribes. The memory of the Triballi as a once great and powerful tribe
continued, even being applied to the later Serb peoples.

Trausi

The Trausi lived in the
south western part of the Rhodopes. The name probably comes from the
Thracian river named Trausas.

Thyni

The Thyni lived in
south eastern Thrace and their terror reportedly prevented Greek settlement
in this area.